Tepoztlán

Tepoztlán is a town in the Mexican state of Morelos. It is located in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The town serves as the seat of government for the municipality of the same name.

The town had a population of 14,130 inhabitants, while the municipality reported 41,629 inhabitants in the 2010 national census.

The town is a popular tourist destination near Mexico City. The town is famous for the remains of El Tepozteco temple built on top of the nearby Tepozteco Mountain, as well as for the exotic ice cream flavors prepared by the townspeople.

People visit the town for its authentic traditional environment, along with the pyramid and several communities with ecological or progressive thinking.

Tepoztlán was named a “Pueblo Mágico” in 2002 but its title was removed in 2009 for failure to maintain the requirements. In 2010 Tepoztlán addressed these problems and recovered the Pueblo Mágico title.

The climate around the Tepoztlán Sierra (where el Tepozteco is located) shows temperate as well as some subtropical variations. The rainy season starts during the summer and ends at the beginning of autumn.

Precipitation reaches 1000 mm/yr in the Tepoztlán Valley and up to 1200 mm/yr in the mountains.

According to myth, Tepoztlan is the birthplace of Quetzalcoatl over 1200 years ago, the feathered serpent god widely worshipped in ancient Mexico. It has not yet been possible to determine who first inhabited the area. The earliest findings of pottery and other ceramic utensils date back to approximately 1500 BCE.

By the 10th century CE the Toltec culture was predominant in the area. Tepoztlán is said to have been the birthplace of Ce Acatl, a very important Toltec leader, later known as Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, and who may be the possible historical basis of the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl.

During the Spanish Conquest Hernán Cortés is said to have ordered the town razed after the refusal of the town leaders to meet him. This event was chronicled by Bernal Díaz del Castillo in The Conquest of New Spain.

Owned by the Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C., located near Tepozteco mountain, Meztitla is the National Scout Camp School. Although Meztitla is frequented by Scouts of Mexico and from around the world, it is also open to the general public.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.